It’s no secret that sex sells, and movies are no exception. But while plenty of films like to show gratuitous sex, they’re not always very good. That’s a problem, since movies have the power to shape not only the cultural norms, but personal ones. And what could be more personal than sex? Sexuality is an integral part of the human experience, not some sensational or shameful ploy to sell tickets (though it doesn’t hurt)....
Just three days after filming resumed at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England, production on “The Batman” has once again been halted, as a crew member (later revealed to be star Robert Pattinson himself) has tested positive for COVID-19. Warner Bros. confirmed the news to IndieWire, and a spokesperson from the studio said the crew member, who wasn’t identified, is now “isolating in accordance with established protocols. Filming is temporarily paused....
This isn’t “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” posturing as a 1970s conspiracy thriller or “Logan” half-committing to its Western heart, nor is it a simple throwback to Christopher Nolan’s Bush-era take on the Dark Knight, which grounded Bruce Wayne in a tactile Gotham while still broadly adhering to the storylines and spectacles expected of its genre. No, the better part of this Batman belongs to another genre altogether, as Reeves stubbornly eschews the usual razzmatazz in favor of a hard-boiled murder-mystery in which The World’s Greatest Detective just happens to be a (very) tortured billionaire with an unexplained hard-on for bats....
What was clear from our picks, however, was that a number of the best composers working today — from Michael Giacchino to Michael Abels — were on their game in 2022; it was also apparent that this was a year of innovative uses of film music that played a subtle and almost sound design-like role. And by no surprise, so much of that best work came from director-composer collaborations that started early and stretched over many months, sometimes over year, and evolved to find the best way for the music sit in the film....
This year’s release calendar has been so loaded with feature-length wonders, many of which push the boundaries of art form, that even as we head straight into the belly of the “awards season” beast, our usual edict remains intact: Anyone who thinks this has been a bad year for movies simply hasn’t seen enough of them. And there are only more goodies to come. Our list of the best movies of the year so far follows the same basic rules: In order to qualify, a film must have been released in North American theaters for at least a week or on a VOD platform in the same territory....
Dowden reportedly sent a letter to Netflix that the streamer addressed privately, but in an earlier interview with The Daily Mail Dowden said, “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.” He added that “without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact....
Thus, the dystopian series opened up its location shoots in Canada for a new kind of world building from Emmy-winning production designer Elisabeth Williams. “We were previously constructed as a studio show,” she said. “Being on location was really tough because we didn’t have as much crew as we should have. But it makes the show more dynamic because being in a studio all the time starts to feel claustrophobic, even if we have all these big, beautiful sets....
